Premium
An independent replication of the effectiveness of the cognitive interview
Author(s) -
Aschermann E.,
Mantwill M.,
Köhnken G.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
applied cognitive psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.719
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1099-0720
pISSN - 0888-4080
DOI - 10.1002/acp.2350050604
Subject(s) - psychology , recall , cognition , replication (statistics) , german , free recall , cognitive interview , eyewitness memory , set (abstract data type) , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , psychiatry , statistics , mathematics , archaeology , computer science , history , programming language
The cognitive interview developed by Geiselman and co‐workers is a set of memory retrieval aids to enhance recall in memory tasks such as eyewitness reports. This research is a replication of the study of Geiselman, Fischer, Firstenberg, Hutton, Sullivan, Avetissian and Prosk (1984) with a German version of the cognitive interview. Twenty‐nine subjects participated and saw a short film in an incidental learning situation. Approximately 6 days later the participants were questioned about one scene of the film. Fourteen subjects received the cognitive interview instructions and 15 were questioned without special instructions. First, subjects gave a written free report of the scene and subsequently answered more specific questions concerning details. The results clearly indicate that the cognitive interview enhances memory retrieval in free recall conditions but this effect is reduced to specific questions. The effects are discussed in terms of a possible underlying memory organization and the use of retrieval strategies.